In this piece, we will take a look at the 12 latest stock picks in Ken Fisher’s investment portfolio. If you want to skip our introduction to one of the richest and most well known hedge fund investors in the world, then take a look at Ken Fisher Portfolio: 5 Biggest Positions.
Ken Fisher is one of the richest hedge fund investors in the world. According to Forbes Magazine, Mr. Fisher is worth a cool $6.8 billion as of November 2023, making him one of the wealthiest 500 people in the world with a population of billions. Mr. Fisher is also one of the few hedge fund bosses who is a prolific writer, and while these days he doesn’t write regularly, he nevertheless shares crucial insight into the finance industry and the economy on his investment firm’s YouTube channel.
Mr. Fisher’s story in the hedge fund industry has seen him turn a mere hundreds of dollars into a multi billion dollar firm. According to Insider Monkey’s research, Fisher Investments’ investment portfolio was worth $176 billion as of September 2023. This makes Fisher Investments one of the biggest financial firms in the world, and one whose portfolio is worth more than the central bank holdings of most countries. Diving deeper into Mr. Fisher’s investment portfolio, it marked a small $4 billion drop over its Q2 2023 value of $180 billion. However, annually, the portfolio has grown by 32% over 2022’s third quarter since back then Fisher Investment’s investment portfolio was worth $133 billion.
A cursory look at the investment climate in 2023 shares some insight into why Mr. Fisher has grown his holdings even as the stock market remains uncertain about the future. 2023 has been the year for technology stocks as the hype surrounding artificial intelligence has made investors flock in droves to big ticket technology firms such as NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA), Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META), and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT). Fisher Investments also pays close attention to technology companies, and its investments during the third quarter of 2023 saw the four biggest investment stakes being the biggest technology companies in the world.
2023 has been a busy year for Mr. Fisher and his firm, in spite of the turmoil in the stock market. This is because in March, Fisher Investments announced that it would move its headquartered to Dallas, Texas from Washington. This decision came after the Washington Supreme Court upheld a 2021 law that deducted a 7% tax from sales of stocks or bonds with profits higher than $250,000.
Shifting gears, the tail end of 2023 has seen all eyes remain on the Federal Reserve. The Fed’s fight to bring down inflation has seen it exert significant pain on investors through high interest rates. On this front, a highly anticipated inflation report for October is believed to set the tone for the Fed’s decisions later this year. Based on preliminary market chatter, it appears that investors are expecting inflation to further drop, and consequently limit the stimulus for the central bank to increase rates by 25 basis points. Economists expect inflation to drop to 3.3% in October over the 3.7% in September, while the Fed’s preferred inflation reading, core inflation, is expected to stay at 4.10%.
Heading into the latest inflation data release, consumer sentiment in the U.S. has started to drop. According to the University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Index, consumer confidence dropped to a six month low of 60.4 for November 2023. At the same time, consumer sentiment about inflation a year from now touched a seven month high, partially influenced by the brief turmoil in the oil market after fresh conflict erupted between Israel and Palestine in the Middle East.
Switching back to Mr. Fisher, these days a ‘goldilocks economy’ is on his mind. This economy is characterized by moderate growth and low inflation, and it has been on several investors’ minds as the U.S. GDP continues to grow despite rapid interest rate hikes. So what does Mr. Fisher think about this? Well, he outlined in a recent video:
The fact that we’re near goldilocks world, and surprises in the real economy keep trending on average, not perfectly so, not a 100% so, better than people expected. That, we should hit that goldilock world in a world that doesn’t expect that, and recognize its potential as a goldilocks, for only about three days, yes I think that should warm your heart. I think this speaks further to this reality. In December of last year, we had a corrective downturn inside this bull market that lasted a little over a month. In February-March, of this year, we had another one. Recently, we’ve had another one! In the period of August-September. And it would appear this one to look almost identical to those prior two. And I encourage you just to go back and look at a chart of the last year at some online website that allows you to do that let’s say for let’s say the S&P 500. And see how similar this period looks to those periods before the bull market ramped back up. I think this is the corrective phase as the wall of worry that bull markets legendarily climb, reasserts itself to lower expectations. It’s the corrective phase, the pause that refreshes if you will before the launch of the next phase upwards in this bull market.
So, as he expects the market to do well in the future, it’s even more important to take a look at Ken Fisher’s top stock picks. We did so today and discovered that the top three stocks in Fisher Investments’ Q3 2023 portfolio are Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), and Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG).
Our Methodology
To compile our list of Ken Fisher’s top stocks, we analyzed Fisher Investments’ stock portfolio for the third quarter of this year and selected the top 12 stocks. For added context, some of Mr. Fisher’s holdings in the companies in Q2 are also provided to share any notable changes. For most stocks, while the Q3 2023 stakes are lower, Fisher Investments bought more shares during the quarter.
Ken Fisher Portfolio: 12 Biggest Positions
12. Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE)
Fisher Investments’ Q3 2023 Investment: $2.3 billion
Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE) is a software company that sells productivity products. The firm has been on a roll on the financial front lately, as it has beaten analyst EPS estimates in all four of its latest quarters and grown the EPS in all of them as well.
During Q2 2023, 109 out of the 910 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE)’s investors. Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management owned the biggest stake among these, which was worth $2.3 billion.
Along with Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), and Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE) is a top Ken Fisher stock pick for Q3 2023.
11. Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)
Fisher Investments’ Q3 2023 Investment: $2.39 billion
Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) is a global pharmaceutical giant. The firm’s diabetes drug Mounjaro has been creating quite a bit of hype as of late, as a European regulator recommended it for weight loss use as well in November 2023. Perhaps this is why Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)’s shares are rated Strong Buy on average, with an average share price target of $627.
For their second quarter of 2023 shareholdings, 87 out of the 910 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey had held a stake in the company. Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)’s largest hedge fund investor during the time period was also Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management as it owned 4.2 million shares that were worth $1.9 billion.
10. The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)
Fisher Investments’ Q3 2023 Investment: $2.6 billion
The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) is an American home improvement retailer. The firm is currently due to report its third quarter earnings, and analysts are worried about another sales drop on the back of a slowing U.S. economy.
For their June quarter of 2023 shareholdings, 68 out of the 910 hedge funds surveyed by Insider Monkey had bought and owned The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)’s shares. Out of these, the biggest shareholder was Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management due to its $2.6 billion stake.
9. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM)
Fisher Investments’ Q3 2023 Investment: $2.66 billion
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) is a Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturing firm that makes chips for companies like NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA). The firm was out with some good news for investors in November, as it posted its first monthly sales jump after February on the back of stronger smartphone and AI orders.
Insider Monkey dug through 910 hedge fund portfolios for this year’s second quarters to find 121 Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) investors. Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management held the largest stake among these which was worth $2.98 billion.
8. Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD)
Fisher Investments’ Q3 2023 Investment: $2.85 billion
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) is an American semiconductor designer. These days, the firm is busy expanding its enterprise computing and artificial intelligence portfolio, as it has announced new products for these technologies.
By the end of June 2023, 112 out of the 910 hedge funds part of Insider Monkey’s database had bought the firm’s shares. Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD)’s biggest hedge fund investor was Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management since it owned 26.9 million shares that were worth $3 billion.
7. ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML)
Fisher Investments’ Q3 2023 Investment: $2.86 billion
ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) is an industrial equipment company that makes and sells high end chip manufacturing machines. While a slowdown in the chip sector has reduced orders for some of its machines, ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) has beaten analyst EPS in all four of its latest quarters.
During this year’s June quarter, 55 out of the 910 hedge funds profiled by Insider Monkey were ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML)’s investors. Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management owned the largest stake among these which was worth $3.4 billion.
6. Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)
Fisher Investments’ Q3 2023 Investment: $2.87 billion
Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) is an American software company that provides businesses with customer relationship management products. Heading into its earnings for the third quarter of fiscal year 2024, the firm announced a big change as it replaced the CEO of its workplace messaging application Slack.
122 out of the 910 hedge funds part of Insider Monkey’s Q2 2023 database had invested in the company. Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s biggest shareholder during the time period was Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management courtesy of its $2.9 billion investment.
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), and Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) are some of Ken Fisher’s biggest and latest positions.
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Disclosure: None. Ken Fisher Portfolio: 12 Biggest Positions is originally published on Insider Monkey.